For those of us who plan holidays around food and drink, Hampshire mightn't feature high on the list to visit. Sandwiched as it is between the ever-popular counties of Dorset and Sussex, it's seen more as a gateway than a destination in its own right. In fact, the region that Keats observed brimming with mellow fruitfulness deserves more consideration, and the month of July sees a four-week celebration of the county's produce, making it the ideal time to visit (read up on the festival in our guide).

The pretty cathedral city of Winchester boasts the biggest farmers' market in Europe. Those of us used to UK farmers' markets comprising French blokes punting extortionately marked-up cheese and sausages will be struck by its genuinely local feel. It's a fortnightly Sunday market that truly showcases the region's goods. The least local produce I found was from neighbouring Sussex and the Isle of Wight with pungent smoked bulbs and chutneys from the garlic farm (which has its own festival later in the summer).

A few miles out of Winchester sits Stockbridge, last year voted the foodiest high street in Britain. The village isn't the prettiest in the country but has made itself more of a destination than it ought to be thanks to the collection of independents trading on its long high street. There's a cracking little deli, Thyme & Tides; John Robinson Butchers, famous purveyors of much sought-after sausages; and the ridiculously picturesque Beccy's Greengrocers. The river Test streams through here and when we visited the shallow water was erupting with huge trout. Unsurprisingly, there are smokeries in the area, most notably the River Test Smokery, set up 20-odd years ago as a service for anglers bringing their catch for smoking, and now expanded to sell cold smoked trout and salmon, prawns and pâté.

The chalk streams don't just provide habitat for trout though, they're said to account for the fine watercress that Hampshire farmers are so proud of. So much so in fact that the railway line built to transport the stuff to market in London survives as a working museum, and there's an annual festival dedicated to the peppery leaf each May. Hell, they've even got a watercress alliance stretching across Dorset and Hampshire. And why not? This underrated little leaf has been overshadowed by trendy upstart rocket for too long in my view: it's got all the hot peppery flavour, thanks to the plant's mustard oils, and a more pleasingly moist soft leaf.

Winchester is home to some of the county's nicest restaurants, two of them - the Chesil Rectory and the Michelin-starred Black Rat just minutes apart. I loved the laid back atmosphere and friendly staff at the Rectory. As for the food - Hampshire quail eggs lined up and drenched with hollandaise atop a mushroom duxelle were simple perfection, crisp-skinned sea bass balanced on an unctuous mound of truffled macaroni worked far better than I expected it to while a neck of Hampshire lamb was paired to excellent effect with crispy little garlic fritters, sweet vine tomatoes and wild garlic pesto.

Over at the Black Rat we enjoyed fresh octopus carpaccio with devilled anchovies, and though an overpowered garlic velouté failed to impress, mains were good - braised pig's cheeks, plaice with Portland crab, fennel and sauce vierge. Both places offer good food at reasonable prices, though for me the unstarred rectory had the edge.

Other good eats can be found at the new and well-regarded Bengal Sage, telly chef James Martin runs a deli in the Square, there's a Brasserie Blanc in the city and over in Wickham you can enjoy Atul Kochhar's British-Indian cuisine at Vatika restaurant while watching the grapes ripen in Wickham vineyard. The vineyard offers tours, courses, and free tastings in their wine shop; the special reserve red '08 and award-winning '09 Fumé are particularly good.

Finally, if you have a chance, drop in to the Hospital of St Cross and ask for wayfarer's dole - according to the website, even these days "a piece of bread and a cup of good beer or Ale may be obtained by knocking at the door of the Porters Lodge and requesting the Dole".

Where to stay

Lainston House's new herd of Gloucester Old Spot piglets.

If you're on a foodie break, you need to know you're staying somewhere that can deliver the goods at breakfast. Lainston House, stood in beautiful rolling countryside between Winchester and Stockbridge, is such a place.

There's an in-house bakery, beehives dotted around the grounds supplying the honey to drizzle on your morning pancakes or toast, and a resident herd of pigs which ultimately provide the meat for your breakfast. The hotel's own produce appears at evening meals too, in the form of honeycomb parfait, and several pork dishes, adorned by herbs, fruit and vegetables grown in the kitchen garden (intriguingly, there's a well-positioned fig tree near the door, which I'm told bears edible fruit).

When I visited Lainston, the pigs had only just gone to slaughter so I went for a saddle of organic lamb from one of the five animals slaughtered weekly for the hotel by a producer up the road in Broughton; it was treated with due respect in award-winning chef Andy MacKenzie's kitchen. And, of course, the following morning brought a sublime breakfast with bacon and sausages courtesy of a previous porcine generation, and tasty black pudding which will in future owe its main ingredient to the residents, too.

Lainston House has everything you'd hope for in a country house hotel, its 60-odd acres of beautiful parkland containing the ruins of a 12th century chapel and hidden sundial gardens. It's the sort of place which lends itself to whiling away an afternoon sighing at pretty ancient dovecotes, staring through windows at the stunning avenue of lime trees dominating the grounds, stretching out in front of roaring fires, and, once breakfast has gone down, taking afternoon tea on the beautiful lawn.

Make sure you check out the bar, all decked out in wood from a single cedar tree. The friendly staff serve up a mean cocktail, so good, in fact, that George Bush Snr declared a martini there as the best he's ever had.